I’ve been lucky to have a young MAKE fan living less than a mile away from me since we started the magazine. Now 12 years old, Cassidy Mountjoy has stolen every copy of MAKE I’ve ever given to his mom, made every Howtoons project we’ve ever published, and tried his hand at BEAM bots, vibrobots, and bristlebots with varying degrees of success. Throughout it all, he’s remained steadfast in his exuberance about what MAKE offers and hasn’t ever let the complexity of the some of the projects discourage him.

He’s the perfect example of a young maker, and more than once his enthusiasm has buoyed my commitment to all the MAKE endeavors, be it the blog, the magazine, or Maker Faires of all sorts and sizes. As we start out this month of Make: Kids and MAKEcation ideas, I can’t wait to meet other young makers like Cassidy and soak in their excitement. Send us your inspiring young maker story!